1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vertical food cabinets.
2. Description of the Related Art
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has long determined that there is considerable danger of spoilage and salmonella (food poisoning bacteria) development in food which is held for even short periods of time at temperatures ranging between 40° F. and 145° F. Prior art apparatus utilizing, e.g., electrically heated air, steam, etc. have encountered problems in attempting to maintain warm food articles held in the apparatus at temperatures above 140° F. within a temperature range of ±5° F. without also causing considerable undesired additional cooking or “overcooking” of the food.
A vertical food cabinet is used to heat and store food at an elevated temperature which prevents bacteria growth, while at the same time preventing overcooking of the food. In general, known vertical food cabinets store cooked meat or other food articles in an enclosure intended to be repeatedly and frequently opened and closed, supporting the cooked food on shelves located within the enclosure, forcing a heated liquid heat-transferring medium through a manifold located adjacent to each shelf, and maintaining the humidity within the enclosure above that of the atmosphere outside of the chamber and the temperature above 140° F. and within a temperature range of ±5° F. Examples of vertical food cabinets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,935 (Liebermann); U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,693 (Tippmann et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,364 (Tippmann et al.), each of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Such a vertical food cabinet is known in the industry as a “Thermodyne”, which is a federally registered trademark owned by the assignee of the present invention. A Thermodyne maintains food at a temperature between 140° F. and 200° F. and within a temperature range of ±1 to 5° F., while at the same time not overcooking the food.
What is needed in the art is a vertical food cabinet that is capable of maintaining food at a temperature above 200° F., while at the same time not overcooking the food.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates an embodiment of the invention, in one form, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.